


Waiting by the Phone.

by Kali Cephirot (KaliCephirot)



Category: Hawkeye (Comics), Young Avengers
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Humor, Jealousy, Male-Female Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-29
Updated: 2013-01-29
Packaged: 2017-11-27 10:04:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/660713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaliCephirot/pseuds/Kali%20Cephirot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Or three times Clint got ditched because Kate had to be with her team and one time he wasn't. </p><p>(Inspired by <a href="http://brucethegirl.tumblr.com/tagged/young-avengers">this post</a>)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waiting by the Phone.

**Waiting by the Phone.**

He starts speaking before she says anything. Sometimes that's the way with Kate, catch her unguarded.

“So I've a steak with your name on it, girly girl, the grill will start around one and I know for a fact that your classes end by noon tomorrow.”

“Yes, because I told you, you dork,” she sounds like she's laughing, 'tho, which usually means Kate will say yes. “But sorry, no can't do, boss. Have plans.”

“Katie, is that a date I'm hearing?”

“You're a terrible gossip, anyone ever told you?” Yes, he's been told, but no, he's not going to tell her that. “But nah, I wish. I scheduled a training session with my team, and then we're going patrolling.”

“Oh,” he can't really begrudge her. Being in a team again – besides him, that is – has brought something back to Kate that he had feared lost since Cassie's death, and a new team needs these sessions to build in trust. But still. “Well, yeah, I can get that. How's that going?”

“Let's see if I can keep America and Noh-Varr from killing each other next time they train and then I tell you. Rain check on the barbecue, Hawkeye?”

“Sure, but you're buying the next steak, Hawkeye. These things ain't cheap.”

She laughs as she hangs up. Clint puts the phone down, his good mood somewhat dampened. He rubs the back of his neck.

“Well, boy, guess you lucked out,” he tells Lucky. “Steak for dinner tonight. On me.”

*

Putting down a whole drug-dealing circle in one night is kind of amazing and note-worthy and both he and Kate can't stop grinning. No-one dead, just a nice couple of knocked out guys all laid out for the police to take them. 

It's a damn good night.

“How's the back, old man?” Kate asks. He stretches, mostly just to see the way she winces when his bones pop and then grins at her.

“Still in one piece, girly,” they go towards the stairs and the roof. “Sorry about the glasses, 'tho.”

“Eh, that's alright,” there's a scratch near her nose where her shades broke. It stopped bleeding a while ago, and now it just makes it seem as if she has her nose dirty. “I've another pair ready.”

“So no shopping trip?” he teases.

Kate opens her mouth to answer him before she frowns, reaching a hand towards her intercom. He frowns, worried until Kate sighs and her posture relaxes.

“Billy, did you summon a demon into our reality _again_ ,” his eyebrows try to reach his hairline with that. “You-- nevermind. Open a portal, and you are SO getting extra miles tomorrow.”

And then a magic portal opens five feet from them. Kate looks at him with a grimace.

“Sorry, bossman, gotta--”

“Yeah, I heard,” he says, making a shooing motion. “You need help with that?” 

“Nah, it's not serious. Slime demons are just gross, but it's better to have backups in these things..”

“Go on then, dont mind me. Go and save the world.”

“More like save my stupid friend's ass,” Kate shakes her head, but she smiles at him before she crosses the damn portal, which closes soundlessly. 

He frowns, kicking a rock towards where the portal was before going back to his place.

Stupid demons, coming to a stupid summoning that was made by mistake.

*

Ever felt like you're being terribly pathetic and probably borderline stalker?

“ _Hello! You've reached Kate's voice mail, leave a message and--_ ”

It's not a nice feeling.

Clint frowns hanging up. Being a superhero, you kinda learned that being on time was non-existent because you could kind of never know when you were gonna be needed. But there was being late and being late: two hours late for practice, with no notice, was enough to warrant worry.

“Okay, Katie, I'm just trying one more time,” he mutters to himself. One more time and then he was going to start calling their very, impossibly long list of superheroes to ask for any kind of news on her.

This time, she picked up her phone at the second tone, making him relax.

“You are the most impatient human being in the history of humanity. And one of my best friends is a speedster. _Forty five lost calls_ , Clint.”

“Hey, you weren't picking up!”

“Maybe I'm a little tied up right now!”

“... please say that's not literal, Hawkeye.”

“Mind out of the gutter, Hawkeye,” she's smiling, he knows it, and now it's HIM who has to deal with having the mental picture of Kate and ropes and. 

(Sometimes, he's pretty sure that she's secretely evil and her evil superpower is driving him crazy.)

“Nevermind that. Where are you?”

“Getting a panoramic view of Argentina?”

Before Clint can ask what, through the phone, muffled by probably a hand or a pillow, he hears Kate laughing, the kind of intimate laugh that is not meant for third ones (or it's not if that third one isn't INVITED to it) and Noh-Varr's voice.

“Oh, I see,” he says. Does he sound as grumpy as he feels?

“Sorry, Clint. I'll make it up to you,” Kate says. “I could probably be there in about an hour. Ish. And a half. Uh. Make it two hours.”

“Don't bother, it's obviously that you are very busy.”

He can almost see the way her eyebrow raises.

“I could tell Noh-Varr to join us, if you'd rather”

If he'd rather! He scoffs, and apparently that's loud enough that he HEARS the way she smirks.

“That's what I thought,” Kate says. “See you later, boss.”

“Maybe not, you know!” He calls after her. “I could be with _my_ team and _my_ friends! Being busy! Saving the world!”

His answer is the click of the phone and then the sounds of the line being dead..

“She hung on me. She hung on me!” Clint looks towards his dog, pointing at the phone as if it was directly responsible of that. “Can you believe that?”

Lucky sniffs, flopping down by his side. Clint huffs, hanging the phone, leaning to scratch his dog's ears. 

“At least you're on my side, boy.”

*  
It was probably a bad idea NOT to tell Kate about the new clues he had gotten and deciding to go and do more research on his own.

Clint ducks, barely avoiding the explosion.

No, scratch that. It definitely WAS a very bad idea not to tell Kate. But Clint really didn't really want to hear a 'can't, I'm busy with my team' again, really, because, really: Kate had all the rights to be with her team and spend time with them and he is happy for her, really!

But it still sucks hard to know that he's back at doing the solo thing. He can do it, of course, he has done it before and even with Kate he knew that there'd come a time when he'd go back to it. But he'd hoped that it'd take longer for that. 

And with how the mission is going, he kinda decides that he chose the worst moment to be a strong, independent grown up. 

He takes a deep breath, ready to launch himself for his lost bow and hope he reaches it in one try so he can go back to his shelter when, suddenly, there is the unmistakable sound of a body hitting the ground and the ever sweet sound of a body hitting the ground with a shoulder flip. 

And even sweeter than that, Kate, dusting her hands. When she looks at him, she glares. He's kind of too stupidly glad to see her there saving his ass to be as scared of Kate Bishop's glare as he should.

“Do we need to have the 'be honest with your partner' talk again, Hawkeye?”

He's lost when she says partner and he can't stop grinning, picking up his bow. 

“Dunno what you're talking about, Hawkeye.”

He's never been happier to being called 'doofus' in his life.


End file.
